Potato Salad ala Grandma Mae

Our Grandmother Mae's Potato Salad
Yeah, it's that good!

Growing up, my sibs, parents, grandparents, uncles & aunts, cousins and all the members of our fambly had more than the average family gatherings, be they on Sunday or any other day of the week because, well, that's just what we did! It was important to us then, and it's important to us now. Though our immediate families are scattered far and wide, we've all embraced our far-flung, but close at hand, relations and made them our close relations, and over the years, we've all realized that no matter how close or far a family link is, by ~blood~, what is in our hearts is what counts the most. And what counts the most...is family. Even when it's friends that become our undeniable family...no blood ties needed. 

The (family) throw 'n go:

5 lb. bag baking potatoes; don’t peel
1 C+ diced celery
1 red pepper, diced, don’t substitute green, omit if you only have green

1/3 C. diced red or white onion
2 T++ fresh dill weed, chopped

3 eggs
2 T. or so Coleman’s dry mustard

2 t. or so sugar
1/2 C. or so vinegar
salt, cayenne pepper, white pepper to taste

1/2 - 3/4 C. or so Hellman’s mayo

1/2 & 1/2 cream to thin to your taste

Put potatoes in a big enough pot so they’re covered with water.  Cook till fork-tender.  Drain and let cool.  When cooled just enough to handle, scrape off skin and chunk into 3/4” - 1” cubes, (not too small).  Put in a large bowl, (big enough to mix everything in), and add celery, red pepper, onion and dill.  Toss all well with your hands. 
Place eggs, mustard, sugar, vinegar, salt and peppers in a pan on the stove over medium heat.  Continuously whisking, cook ingredients until they become quite thick - like a sabayon - then remove from heat and stir in the mayo.  Pour on the potato mixture and mix all well by hand.  Add cream to thin if needed.  Taste and correct seasonings. It’s much better the second day - thin with more cream if needed on that second day.

Our Grandma Mae Reusser Heyssel’s wonderful recipe. 

A GREAT buffet or take to salad. Even Julie Murray loves this and she cannot stand mayonnaise.

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Fresh ~Pickled~ Cucumbers

Old Fashioned ~Pickled~ Fresh Cucumbers

This wonderful dish has been part of my families' heritage since, well, forever. I can't remember a time this wasn't part of our family summer gatherings, (I am now old enough that when I was young, we really did eat seasonally as out-of-season produce was awful and prohibitively expensive. When my mom was growing up, out-of-season produce was simply non-existent, so this was something her family enjoyed as long as the cucumbers were being gathered from the family garden) and it's a delicious addition to any summer gathering!

Now that we have the fancy-schmancy hydroponically-grown "English" cucumbers, this dish is possible all year round! A good thing, me thinks! (If you use regular cucumbers, do peel them - the skin can be tough, and the wax put on them is just yukky.) Make this tomorrow, folks! You'll be happy you did!

The T'nG:

English cucumbers, washed, peeled with skin stripes (see above) and sliced

cider vinegar

dill, fresh is best, chopped (dried can be substituted, but it's not as good)

fresh ground black pepper

ice cubes

kosher salt

Put the cucumber slices in a bowl and just cover with the cider vinegar. Sprinkle dill over all, along with fresh ground pepper. Stir well. Cover the top with ice cubes and then sprinkle kosher salt on the ice cubes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.   For serving, a slotted spoon works well. 

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!

xoabb

Calamari Salad

Calamari Salad in our Grandma Nita's cut glass bowl

Another one of the Seven Fishes from our Christmas Eve feast, sis-in-law Chrissy's calamari salad came together quickly and easily. It was the first time I've ever had calamari served this way...and I'm in love with it!
As we all know, any kind of seafood is alway better when it is absolutely dead fresh. It was obvious this calamari was, as the aroma given off while it was draining was just mouth wateringly wonderful! I haven't smelled anything so ~pure/oceany/clean~ since we used to boil fresh-caught conch on Grand Cayman back in the good old days (O how I miss that Caribbean conch...and Cayman, too!). 

As you can see from the (lack of) ingredient amounts, 
this recipe is most definitely a Throw 'n Go affair!

~

calamari

white vinegar 

lemon, juiced

Italian parsley, chopped

salt
white pepper

Cut the calamari tubes into 1/4" ringlets. No need to chop the tentacles. Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add the calamari and boil for 2 minutes or to your preference. Drain, reserving liquid, and let cool. Add vinegar, parsley and lemon juice to the liquid and mix well. Pour over the calimari and mix again. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. 

Cheers! (As Chrissy would say.)

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb